set up advice HEQ5 with DSLR and 200mm lens

[LarsCar]

Hi all , this is my first post here 

I am in dire need of some advice or input .

I recently purchased a used HEQ5 that came with a Skywatcher 200p telescope , a modified Canon camera and guide scope ( it was only the mount I wanted but the price was way , way too good considering it included the larger scope and camera /numerous accessories. I hoped it would future proof me and save me having to make large future purchases.

 I have really been trying to get to grips with it all but if I am honest , as awesome as the telescope is , it’s just extremely cumbersome and overwhelming to set up and use , precariously trying to adjust and balance it all .  Trying to hold on to it all and twiddling the little grub screws that grip it into place , the insane , convoluted software sequences to run through to set get it set up each time , it doesn’t help that the nights are so short this time of year but     the whole process just absorbs so much of the limited time available not to mention the spontaneously occurring clouds.

Before I purchased this deal I had picked up an old Tamron f3.8 200mm lens for my own camera for £30 on eBay and planned on using just that with the HEQ5 until I could afford a telescope at a later date and had a better idea of what I needed. 

Essentially I feel like I have inadvertently jumped in way too deep with software , drivers, cables and cameras etc etc so I decided to chill a bit and temporarily place the 200p to one side ( try to pretend it isn’t there mocking me ) and  return to my original plan of just using a compact, forgiving 200mm lens and image unguided with just the mount aligned via the polar scope  , go to controller for target acquisition and intervalometer for image sequencing . No laptops , no drivers , ascom , phd, Astro tortilla , sharp cap to worry about ..

The problem I have now though is that it seems my DSLR and 200mm lens are way too light to balance properly on the HEQ5 regardless of what I do with the weights . 

I really pushed the budget boat out thinking I had made a wise long term decision but I just feel a bit lost now. 

Maybe in winter when the nights are longer and less rushed it will all come together . I have managed to clamber up the learning curve so far but despite that , the actual process is far more tedious than my originally imagined concept of a minimal ‘ grab and go’ set up . Trying to use all this extra technology .

I am really pleased with the mount I just wanted something solid that will track stars and allow me to expand to larger lens and or scope  later . I think now I need to find a solution to get it balanced for just my SLR and photo lens. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it !

Sorry it’s a long , rambling post . I guess it’s the accumulation of a lot of thinking and pondering and I have no one around to talk to about this subject or bounce off. 

 

 

 

 

[Geoff Barnes]

Welcome aboard LarsCar, and fear not, I'm sure there are plenty of forum members on here who have experience with your type of set up who will be only too happy to give you good advice - just as soon as they wake up from their slumbers!

[almcl]

I have a somewhat similar setup - 200mm Canon lens and Canon camera on an EQ5 - and like you, I found the standard counterweights too heavy. 

After a bit of experimenting with empty bean tins filled with lead, sand or water, I settled on a 2.0 kg counterweight  (https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/bresser-counterbalance-20-kg-for-exos-1eq4.html) which balances my set up nicely.  It is worth experimenting to find what weight is suitable and checking that the centre hole matches HEQ5 counterweight bar diameter.   

Or, if you are handy you might make one?

At 200 mm focal length you may well find the mount will track accurately enough to give round stars.

[LarsCar]

Ahh thank you for the reply and the link !  I had done some googling but could only find smaller weights for the Eq3 !  Being tight by nature I had contemplated knocking something together out of bits but had premonitions of it suddenly failing and slipping in the dark and sending me back to square one lol.

After sleeping on it I feel like the plan to stick to the 200mm for imaging and using the monster telescope for observation for now is the right way to go . 

Cheers again, I will pick one of those 2kg’s up  !

[LarsCar]

Thanks Geoff ! Much appreciated, I had reached the point of complete frazzlement with it all last night so much so I just spent the last half an hour star hopping with my old binoculars fighting the feeling that  I might have made a huge mistake lolol

[almcl]

42 minutes ago, LarsCar said:

Cheers again, I will pick one of those 2kg’s up  !

It might be worth hanging a bag of sugar (or similar) off the weight bar just to check the balance - my set up may weigh more/less than yours:

[ollypenrice]

Provided your dovetail bar were a light one I would expect a camera and 200mm lens to manage with no more counterweight than the bar itself, though you could tape a metal bar along it for a little more weight if necessary.

We've run cameras without counterweights on our EQ sixes here several times here without issue.

Olly

[LarsCar]

1 hour ago, almcl said:

It might be worth hanging a bag of sugar (or similar) off the weight bar just to check the balance - my set up may weigh more/less than yours:

 Thank you ! You got me thinking and did some more Googling.  I managed to dig out some old dumbells (1.25kg each) and picked up a couple of  those pipe clamps they use for plumbing for a couple of quid it works !!!  Yes it looks a little DIY but it’s locked in solid .I added a couple of hollow rail brackets to act as a washer in case the clamp was too thin. I will post a picture in case someone else can benefit from this quick fix ,can’t wait to use it now and it’s certainly a lot more manageable than that 200p! Cheers again !

Edited June 3, 2019 by LarsCar

[LarsCar]

11 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Provided your dovetail bar were a light one I would expect a camera and 200mm lens to manage with no more counterweight than the bar itself, though you could tape a metal bar along it for a little more weight if necessary.

We've run cameras without counterweights on our EQ sixes here several times here without issue.

Olly

Hi Olly , thanks for the reply ! Initially that is what I thought I would be able to do but with the 2x5kg weights removed but with just the bar,  the camera and lens would simply swing towards the ground . Trying then a single 5kg weight had the opposite effect and would over power the camera and lens in my case causing the weight to simply swing down. Being an old 1970’s lens I thought it would all be heavy enough but not in this case !  Glad to hear you have no such issues your side though!  

Edited June 3, 2019 by LarsCar

[JamesF]

13 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Provided your dovetail bar were a light one I would expect a camera and 200mm lens to manage with no more counterweight than the bar itself, though you could tape a metal bar along it for a little more weight if necessary.

I was  thinking much the same.

An alternative I used with my Star Adventurer when I was on holiday last year was to tape three cans of coke to the counterweight bar.  You might also try wrist/ankle weights wrapped around the bar or bottles of water and/or sand.

James

[frankvstar1]

On 02/06/2019 at 22:35, LarsCar said:

Hi all , this is my first post here 

I am in dire need of some advice or input .

I recently purchased a used HEQ5 that came with a Skywatcher 200p telescope , a modified Canon camera and guide scope ( it was only the mount I wanted but the price was way , way too good considering it included the larger scope and camera /numerous accessories. I hoped it would future proof me and save me having to make large future purchases.

 I have really been trying to get to grips with it all but if I am honest , as awesome as the telescope is , it’s just extremely cumbersome and overwhelming to set up and use , precariously trying to adjust and balance it all .  Trying to hold on to it all and twiddling the little grub screws that grip it into place , the insane , convoluted software sequences to run through to set get it set up each time , it doesn’t help that the nights are so short this time of year but     the whole process just absorbs so much of the limited time available not to mention the spontaneously occurring clouds.

Before I purchased this deal I had picked up an old Tamron f3.8 200mm lens for my own camera for £30 on eBay and planned on using just that with the HEQ5 until I could afford a telescope at a later date and had a better idea of what I needed. 

Essentially I feel like I have inadvertently jumped in way too deep with software , drivers, cables and cameras etc etc so I decided to chill a bit and temporarily place the 200p to one side ( try to pretend it isn’t there mocking me ) and  return to my original plan of just using a compact, forgiving 200mm lens and image unguided with just the mount aligned via the polar scope  , go to controller for target acquisition and intervalometer for image sequencing . No laptops , no drivers , ascom , phd, Astro tortilla , sharp cap to worry about ..

The problem I have now though is that it seems my DSLR and 200mm lens are way too light to balance properly on the HEQ5 regardless of what I do with the weights . 

I really pushed the budget boat out thinking I had made a wise long term decision but I just feel a bit lost now. 

Maybe in winter when the nights are longer and less rushed it will all come together . I have managed to clamber up the learning curve so far but despite that , the actual process is far more tedious than my originally imagined concept of a minimal ‘ grab and go’ set up . Trying to use all this extra technology .

I am really pleased with the mount I just wanted something solid that will track stars and allow me to expand to larger lens and or scope  later . I think now I need to find a solution to get it balanced for just my SLR and photo lens. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it !

Sorry it’s a long , rambling post . I guess it’s the accumulation of a lot of thinking and pondering and I have no one around to talk to about this subject or bounce off. 

 

 

 

 

  I have the same HEQ5Pro mount and when polar aligned really good I can get a 4 to 5 minute with my Pentax KX and 200 mm lens fairly easily. I still going through the insane amount of garbage you have to go thru using a 8in Meade SCT on this mount, and I did finally have to get a small guide camera so I could use sharp cap to polar align well as the polar scope retical was out of whack  real bad with my mount.  Don't give up, as soon as you get your first quality photo that you like it makes it all worth while.  After years I just got a picture of the Andromeda galaxy that I was happy with and I am struggling to repeat it. I have  used a small Evostar refractor to get this pic. I am not good using photo enhancements yet such as Photo Shop to really pick put the dark space background and star colors, that's going to cost the price of a used Televue eyepiece and I am not ready for that. BUt the mount seemed to track well unguided for  2 minutes easy and this was about 7 frames, not many at all.Andromeda test 2 sequator enhanced.psdAndromeda test 2 sequator enhanced.psdAndromeda test 2 sequator enhanced.psdAndromeda test 2 sequator enhanced.psdAndromeda test 2 sequator enhanced.psd

[AriaA7]

On 02/06/2019 at 22:35, LarsCar said:

Essentially I feel like I have inadvertently jumped in way too deep with software , drivers, cables and cameras etc etc so I decided to chill a bit and temporarily place the 200p to one side ( try to pretend it isn’t there mocking me ) and  return to my original plan of just using a compact, forgiving 200mm lens and image unguided with just the mount aligned via the polar scope  , go to controller for target acquisition and intervalometer for image sequencing . No laptops , no drivers , ascom , phd, Astro tortilla , sharp cap to worry about ..

The problem I have now though is that it seems my DSLR and 200mm lens are way too light to balance properly on the HEQ5 regardless of what I do with the weights . 

I really pushed the budget boat out thinking I had made a wise long term decision but I just feel a bit lost now. 

Wow thank you for this post; I'm literally in the same exact position as you were when posting this and was starting to think I've made a terrible mistake. Thanks for the tips on how you balanced it I'm going to try it out!

How's the astro stuff been since you posted this?